laycock



(No Model.)

W. S. LAYOOGK. BRAKE FOB. RAILWAY WAGONS.

No. 403,540. Patented May 21, 1889.

WlLl /AIYI SAMUEL LAYCOOK, W r z ditto 4m4 'z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IYIIIIIIAM S. IIAYCOCK, OF SHEFFIELD, COUNTY OF YORK, ENGLAND.

BRAKE FOR RAILWAY-WAGONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 403,540, dated May 21, 1889. Application filed April 28, 1888. Serial No. 272,165. (No model.) Patentedin England May 25, 1887, No. 7,562.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM SAMUEL LAY- COCK, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Sheiiield, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakes for Railway Rolling-Qtock, (for which I have obtained a British patent, No. 7,562, dated May 25,1887;) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of brake apparatus for railway freight cars especially, hereinafter termed wagons. It combines simplicity of construction with the development of great power, and enables the brake-blocks to be applied and withdrawn from either side of the wagon or other vehicle, which is a great advantage in shunting on railways.

The accompanying drawings illustrate various methods of carrying my invention into effect.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in any of the figures in which they oc- Clll'.

Figure l is a side elevation of a railwaywagon with the brake apparatus constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of one side of the apparatus with portions of the wood-work removed. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are modified arrangements of apparatus constructed according to my invention.

In constructing a brake apparatus for a railwayavagon, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I support in suitable bearings a shaft, A, which extends across the wagon and projects at each side a suitable length to receive a hand-wheel or lever, B, by which said shaft may be turned in either direction. If the brake-blocks C are applied to only one pair of wheels, as shown in Fig. 2, I make the bearing D with a screwthread at E, and I make a corresponding screw-thread upon the shaft A to engage with it, the result being that when the shaft A is rotated by means of the lever B from either side of the wagon the screw-thread engaging with that of the bearing will cause the shaft to travel longitmlinaltv.

The bearing D is constructed to carry two rocking cranks, F, working upon axle-pins, and to which are attached coImecting-rods G, secured at their opposite ends to the brakeblock arms ll, which carry the brake-blocks (l. The arms of the two rocking cranks F, which extend toward the shaft A, are suitably shaped to be operated upon by two collars formed upon the shaft A, between which they fit and by which they are moved in eitherdirection, according to the motion of the said shaft, and either causing the brake-blocks to be applied to or withdrawn from the wheels, as the case may be. Y

The arrangement of the mechanism illustrated in Figsa-S and I is simply a modification of my invention. It consists in fixing the screwed shaft A, supported in suitable bearings, longitut'linally with the wagon, instead of transversely, as in Figs. 1 and 2, and to enable it to be operated from either side of the wagon I fix another shaft, J, across the wagon and connect it with the shaft A by means of a pair of bevel or miter wheels, K, or mechanical equivalents, the shaft J being also provided with hand wheels or levers 13'. The brake-blocks O are carried by pivoted arms II, and suitable nuts, L, through which the screwed parts of shaft A work, are carried by the top ends of the before-mentioned arms II. The screwed parts of the shaft A are made right and left hand, and thus their action will either draw the nuts L and the top portion of the arms ll toward each other, or by a reverse movement will force them apart, thus either applying or withdrawing the brake-blocks.

I have illustrated a further modification or arrangement of my invention in Fig. 5, in which the shaft A which is fixed across the wagon, (supported in bearings and provided with wheels or hand-levers, as before described,) has a right and left hand screw out upon it, and upon each screw-thread a correspondingly-threaded nut, M and M, is placed. To these nuts connecting-rods N are attached by joint-pins, the opposite ends being similarly secured to sliding brake-blocks 0 This end of the shaft A may be supported by the plain part of the said shaft (marked 0;) or the end of the shaft maybe made to suit this purpose and carried by a suitably-con structed bracket. It will be seen that when the shaft A is turned in one direction the action of the right and left hand screws will draw the nuts together and force the brake-blocks against the wheels, and when turned in the opposite direction will separate the nuts and draw back the blocks. If it is desirable to apply brake-blocks to the four wheels of awagon, a similar appliance to that described is fixed upon the other end of the shaft A In either arrangement of my brake mechanism a transverse horizontal shaft is provided at each end with the means for operating the brakes by hand, so that the brakemen need not climb upon the cars nor go between them to put the brakes on or off, and a very direct and powerful connection between the hand levers or wheels and each brake-shoe is effected without supplemental gearing. The screw-connections serve also to dispense with ratchets and other movable stops, and provide for applying the brakes with all the force that may be required while walking or running beside a moving train.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In mechanism for operating the brakes of railway rolling-stock, the combination, substantially as hereinbefore specified, of a transverse horizontal operating-shaft having at each end means for turning the same by hand, brake-shoes opposed to each other in customary manner, and screw-and-lever connections, substantially as shown, between said shaft and the brake-shoes, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the transverse screwthreaded shaft A, its levers B and fixed collars, the brake -shoes C, internally-screwthreaded bearing D, bell-crank levers F, and connecting-rods G, substantially as hereinbefore specified, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have affixed hereto my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- \V. S. LAYCOCK.

WVitnesses:

LEONARD A. RYALLS, BERNARD E. DRURY. 

